There isn’t a lot of buzz over Horned Larks in birding circles and I dreaded processing more photos from my recent Montana camping trip because I had to take all of those photos as JPEGS, which I really don’t like to process. So I was sorely tempted to not post any photos of this bird.
But I’ve had a soft spot for Horned Larks since I was a pre-teen when they were the most common bird, by far, on our Montana farm so how could I not.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Mornings were cold while I was in Montana. Temps were significantly below freezing when I found this male Horned Lark on a fence post at about 6:30 AM, so he was fluffed up for most of the time I was with him. He was wary of me at first but he soon settled into what appeared to be his normal morning routine.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
And man, was he ever a singer. About the only time he stopped singing was when he was preening.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
He turned circles on his perch, singing the entire time.
If you’ve never heard the soft, tinkling song of the Horned Lark, here’s a link to a short video that shows you almost exactly what I was seeing and hearing when I was photographing this guy. Even the perch is almost identical.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
I’ll close with one of the few photos I took of him when he wasn’t singing. But he was sure puffed up in the cold and looking like the Pillsbury Doughboy (remember him?) and his ‘horns’ were really standing at attention. They often aren’t.
I still remember one of the first times I got close enough to a Horned Lark to realize that they were more than just another LBJ (little brown job). I was about eight years old and brushing my horse Star when a male Horned Lark landed on a fence post right next to me and began to sing. For the first time I noticed the subtle yellows, whites and blacks and the distinctive occipital feather tufts (horns) that set them apart. And he seemed to be singing his sweet, delicate, tinkling song just for me. I was hooked.
So I’d have felt guilty, even selfish, if I hadn’t processed and posted these photos.
Ron
You did an excellent job processing those jpegs – a wonderful bird
An absolute fluffy little charmer, and I love that tinkling song too. Many of our birds are very pretty but most are not musical. I would love to hear that song in the morning (or any time).
Thank you so much for going the extra mile to process these shots.
And what precious memories to share too. Simple times, good times.
Thanks, EC. You’ve mentioned before that most of your Australian birds aren’t musical. I wonder why that is.
Many thanks for tackling those JPEGS and giving this little guy his chance to win our hearts, too! 💛🤎🖤🎵
Thank you, Carolyn.
“Probably” have them around but have never noticed them! Pretty little bird for sure……. 🙂
I’ll bet you do, Judy. After my experience with the male while I was grooming my horse, I soon realized that most of the little birds I’d see in the fields while I was driving tractor were Horned Larks. Nearly all of them in fact.
In the interest of scientific correctness…”Pillsbury Doughboy” is his common name. “Poppin’ Fresh” is the proper scientific name…😉
Hmmm, I always thought their proper scientific name was Poppinus freshus…
Feel the same way as you do about these little beauties Ron. One of my favorite sounds is hearing them softly call on a perfectly still and silent morning on the high desert. It just draws you into a moment of wonder.
That last photo is a great portrait.
“One of my favorite sounds is hearing them softly call on a perfectly still and silent morning”
Michael, one of the interesting things about Horned Larks is that, unlike many songbirds, they’ll continue singing and calling even when the wind is howling. They’re inveterate singers.
Thank you for taking one for the team and processing these jpegs, Ron. What a lovely way to start the day for me. He definitely looks chilly, poor thing. It’s always nice when we can see the body part for which they’re named too.
Thank you also for sharing the video. Birds (besides the Corvids who are never quiet 😂 ) are beginning to vocalize again now that the human shenanigans around the 4th are over. I’ll definitely have to look and listen for Horned Larks here and over at the shelter. I had some very curious sparrows hanging out with me and my former medical foster doggo (who is available for adoption if anyone in SoCal wants a true princess — Cinderella) when we were in the play yard on Saturday.
Marty, I believe I’ve now processed the last of those JPEGS that I’ll ever have to process. A relief.
Good luck getting your “doggo” adopted!
Wonderful story today! I wonder if all your readers are going back in their memories today and reliving a particularly pleasant “nature” memory of their own from their youth. I know I am, and I have you to thank for it!
Karen, it seems that a lot of them are. And that’s a good thing.
Beautiful photos of a very handsome guy. Really like the last photo because it clearly shows why the name. Hard to believe there are some cold spots in the US right now. We are scheduled to hit 102 on Thursday here in Prescott and if that hot up here in the mountains you can only image what it will be in Phoenix and Tucson and Yuma.
And yes, especially in that last photo he does look at little “puffy” like the Doughboy.
“Hard to believe there are some cold spots in the US right now.”
Everett, keep in mind that this was 2 1/2 weeks ago and I was very close to the continental divide.
Wonderful series Ron, thans for sharing!
Thanks, Charlotte.
Right after I retired my husband and I rented a little farm house in Torrey, UT for the winter. The horned larks loved the open, fallow field just south of the house, and I would watch and listen to them often. Soon, as things warmed up in late February and early March, the meadow larks joined them. Talk about morning glory! Listening to those birds each morning would bring tears to my eyes, it was so beautiful.
BTW, the Northern Harriers loved that field too, and would amaze me with their flight skills, especially stopping mid air to survey the field. Good memories. Thanks, Ron, for sending me back there this morning!
That must have been really something! I can almost hear the birds and see the field from your description.
Cathryn, I love Torrey. I’ve been going there since the early 70’s and loved it from day one.
Thanks for including the song link this morning–I’d never heard it ( or maybe
wasn’t paying attention–it’s subtle and sweet ) and hadn’t seen the “horns”
standing up……I really liked hearing your morning memory from long ago.
I have a similar one which featured meadowlark song, and the “school’s out”
freedom to simply sit in the sun, eyes closed, and listen to that cascade of beauty……
I’m glad you enjoyed my “morning memory”, Kris. For me it’s a very good one.
Well Ron these birds may be common but I have never seen or heard one so this was a huge buzz for me. Thank you. And that song is even nicer than those of the blue jay and grackle with which I am quite familiar ….
Frances, for me it’s a soothing song that brings back a lot of good memories.
And I have not yet seen one this year, dang it! Loved the video!
“Loved the video.”
Good. I was undecided about including it but it was so similar to what I saw and heard I just had to provide the link.
Love the photos, Ron! I saw my first Horned Lark this spring on a Cape Cod beach! They aren’t that common around here so I was thrilled. She landed right in front of me on the sand. I managed a few decent shots but nothing as nice as your photos this morning!
Glad you saw one, Joanne. Thanks.
Beautiful photos Ron. So glad you posted them and shared your memory as an 8-year-old brushing your horse Star while being serenaded by the Horned Lark.
Thanks, Mark. They’re good memories for me.
Those horns are really something! 🙂
Yup.